A former security officer who released recordings that implicate Ukrainian ex-president Leonid Kuchma in the murder of an opposition journalist says he is ready to return to Kiev to testify.
"I'll definitely return to testify," Mykola Melnychenko told Kommersant-Ukraine.
Melnychenko was put on the international wanted list earlier this week. He is charged with of abuse of office and divulging state secrets.
"I'll return on the first day of the trial, go to the courtroom directly from the airport and tell them everything I know. I know I may be arrested, but I'm not afraid," he said.
In March, Ukraine's state prosecutor opened a criminal case against ex-president Kuchma for his suspected role in the murder of opposition journalist Georgiy Gongadze, whose headless body was found in a forest outside Kiev in September 2000. Kuchma, who ruled Ukraine from 1994 to 2005, denies any involvement.
Melnychenko, who repeatedly accused Kuchma and incumbent parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytyn of the murder, fled to Israel this autumn after receiving death threats.
